Four areas that stood out in Chiefs' loss to Eagles
Patrick Mahomes leads team in rushing ... again
The Chiefs are 0-2 to start a season for the first time since Patrick Mahomes became the fulltime starter in 2018.
Kansas City failed to achieve consistency on offense against the Philadelphia Eagles in what proved to be a defensive slugfest between last season’s Super Bowl participants.
The Chiefs’ star quarterback finished the game with 187 yards passing, marking his 12th-lowest yardage career output. He completed 16-of-29 passes, which included a touchdown and an interception, while rushing for a team-high 66 yards rushing and a touchdown on seven carries.
Here are four areas that stood out in the loss:
MIRAGE STAT
It is often said that a running game is a quarterback’s best friend.
The Chiefs as a team gained 121 yards rushing on 26 carries, averaging 4.7 yards per attempt against the Eagles.
The statistics are a mirage, however.
For the second straight game, Mahomes led the team in rushing, averaging 9.2 yards per attempt.
Meanwhile, running backs Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combined for 53 yards rushing on 18 carries, a collective 2.9 yards per attempt. Rookie Brashard Smith chipped in with a carry for 2 yards.
Mahomes is fully capable of carrying a team with his arm if a defense stuffs the run, of course, but the Chiefs must get some semblance of balance to keep opponents honest.
Relying on Mahomes to lead the team in rushing every week isn’t a recipe for sustained success.
STAY ON THE FIELD
The Chiefs’ offense needs to get in a rhythm to be truly effective.
But there’s a percentage figure from Sunday’s loss standing out to help explain another subpar offensive performance: 33.3.
Kansas City went 4-of-12 on third-down situations, and the showing comes off a Week 1 loss when the Chiefs went 5-of-14 on third downs (35.7%).
WR HELP
It’s safe to say at this point that the Chiefs are missing wide receivers Rashee Rice, who is serving a six-game suspension, and Xavier Worthy, who was out with a shoulder injury.
Mahomes spread the ball around, connecting with eight different receivers, but the offense as a whole looked out of sync.
Mahomes misfired twice on deep passes to Tyquan Thornton before hooking up with Thornton on a 49-yard touchdown pass late in the game. Thornton finished with two catches for 59 yards and the score.
Hollywood Brown, who had a team-high 10 catches for 99 yards in Week 1, was relegated to short routes against the Eagles and finished with five catches for 30 yards.
JuJu Smith-Schuster had just one catch for 5 yards on three targets.
The Chiefs won’t have Rice back for another four games, and it remains to be seen when Worthy will return to the lineup.
Until then, the Chiefs might need to weather the storm at this position.
RETURNER SHINES
Wide receiver/returner Nikko Remigio was a bright spot against the Eagles.
Remigio had two punt return for 42 yards (21 yards per attempt), and two kickoff returns for 43 yards (21.5 yards per attempt).
He ran hard and finished plays when he had an opportunity.
Remigio also had a catch for 21 yards on offense late in the fourth quarter, helping set up the Mahomes to Thornton 49-yard touchdown one play later.
